Kankakee Valley Post, Volume 11, Number 10, DeMotte, Jasper County, 23 January 1941 — Household NeWs [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Household NeWs

by Eleanor Howe

FEBRUARY IS A PARTY MONTH February is a party month; every hostess calendar should have

the the fourteenth, and the twenty-second ringed in red! And this year, with the renewed emphasis on patriotism which

the world crisis has brought, there’s every reason to make Washington’s" and Lincoln’s birthdays occasions for more patriotic partying than usual.. 1 ’ ; No holiday in February lends itself to a tea quite like Washington’s birthday. But instead of tea, serve coffee with squares of hot, fragrant gingerbread as you see it in the picture above. The spicy squares are much in keeping with the day, for Washington’s mother was said to have been famous for her gingerbread. Make it by your own special recipe or use one of the packaged gingerbread mixes. All that you will need for decorations is a bowl of flowers and the' silhouettes of ge and % Martha Washington mounted on white paper and hung to form a background for the tea table. As a part of the food for the occasion, serve a minted pear salad with small deviled hot breads. These are tender, crunchy biscuit hearts with the top section cut out to show the deviled ham filling. Let the beverage be a deep red cranberry punch and garnish each cup with a cube of pineapple stuck on a pick. If you wish to have a second course, small cakes or ice cream molds will finish the menu in fine style. “ A sugar heart cake is a dessert w-hich any hostess could serve with pride when a few friends come in for Valentine’s day evening. Fine white cake is put together with a creamy 1 chocolate filling, and the eake-top. is decorated with confectioners’ sugar sifted through a lace doily with a heart motif.on it. When the doily is removed, the design remains, etched* neatly in sugar on the cake. Cranberry Punch. (Makes 3 quarts) 2'a cups sugar 6 cups boiling water 2 17-ounce cans jellied cranberry sauce 1 cup lemon juice 1 12-ojince can pineapple cubes 1 pint carbonated water Cocktail sticks Hub the jellied crrfhberry sauce into sugar. Add hot water and heat

and stir until well ' blended. Beat with rotary beater until smooth. Add lemon juice. Drain juice from

pineapple cubes and measure; there should be l 2 cup. Add pineapple juice to punch mixture and strain through fine sieve or cheese cloth. Qhill thoroughly. When ready to * serve, place block of ice in punch bowl (or use about 1 quart ice cubes). Pour punch mixture and - carbonated water over ice. Insert pineapple cubes onto cocktail sticks and place one in each cup. Fill cups with punch. Sugar Heart Cake. (Makes 2 9-inch layers) 4 cups cake flour 4 teaspoons baking powder 3-4 teaspoon salt z 3 cup butter or other shortening , 2 cups sugar 2 eggs (unbeaten) 1% cups milk 2 teaspoons vanilla Sift cake flour once before measuring, then add baking powder and salt and sift 3 times. Cream butter until soft, add sugar gradually and cream together until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat thoroughly. Add flour, alternately with milk, a small amount at a time. Beat until smooth after each addition. Then add vanilla. Pour batter into 2 well-greased 9-inch square perns (2 inches deep). Bake in a moderate oven (350 degrees Fahrenheit) for 35 to 40 minutes. Put together as layer cake,

spreading chocolate cream filling between layers.. Place lace doily made with heart motif over top of cake. Fasten securely to top of cake with toothpicks. Sprinkle surface generously and evenly with confectioners’ sugar. Brush off excess with pastry brush, then remove, picks and carefully lift off pattern. The design should be neatly etched in confectioners’ sugar. Chocolate Cream Filling. (Makes 2 x z cups). 3 squares unsweetened chocolate (3 ounces) (grated) 1% cups milk 3 4 cup sugar 4 tablespoons cake flour Vz teaspoon salt 1 egg (slightly beaten) 1 tablespoon butter 1 teaspoon vanilla Add chocolate to milk. Heat in double boiler. * When chocolate is melted, beat with rotary egg beater to blend. Combine sugar, flour and salt. Add gradually to chocolate mixture and cook until thickened (about 5 minutes), stirring constantly. Then cook 10 minutes longer, stirring occasionally. Pour , small amount of mixture over egg, stirring vigorously, return to double boiler-. Cook 2 minutes longer, stirring constantly. Then add butter and vanilla and cool. Patriotic Sandwich Plate. (25 star sandwiches; 40 rolled sandwiches) 2 l 1 2 -pound loaves sandwich bread Softened butter 2 17-ounce cans jellied cranberry 1 cup dried beef (ground) \ 4 3-ounce packages cream cheese 4 tablespoons milk 4 teaspoons lemon.juice Vz teaspoon onion juice Trim crusts from 1 loaf with sharp knife. Slice, lengthwise into Vs-inch

slices. If very long knife is not available, loaf will be easier to handle if cut in half crosswise before slicing. Wrap slices in damp towel and place in refrigerator.

for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Meanwhile slice jsecond loaf lengthwise into V B -jinch slices. Cut out sandwiches with star-shaped cutter, then spread with softened butter. Slice jellied cranberry sauce .into thin slices and cut into stars with same cutter. Place each slice of cranberry between two slices buttered bread. Blend cream cheese with milk until softened, then add lemon and onion juice. Combine with ground beef and chopped nuts. Remove sliced bread from refrigerator, unwrap, and spread whth softened butter, then with filling. 5 Roll lightly into long rolls. Wrap each roll in waxed paper and place in refrigerator. When ready to serve, insert a small flag into end of each rolled sandwich. Stand them up around sides of a shallow' bowl or basket so that flags hang over edge. Fill center of bowl or basket with starshaped sandwiches. Deviled Biscuit Hearts. (Makes 18) 2 cups flour (all-purpose) 3 teaspoons baking powder Vz teaspoon salt Vi cup shortening Vi cup milk (approximately) 2 2Vi ounce cans deviled ham Sift flour once before measuring. Add baking powder, salt, and sift together. Cut in shortening, using a pastry blender or two knives, or rub it in with the fingers. Add milk, stirring it in lightly with a fork, until a soft dough forms. Turn onto a lightly floured board and knead for a few seconds. Roll out to about Vi inch in thickness. Cut with a heart-shaped cutter. Remove the centers from half the biscuits. To do this, fold biscuit in half and cut out center with kitchen scissors, leaving a narrow rim. Spread deviled ham on whole biscuits, top with rims and bake in a hot oven (45C degrees Fahrenheit) for 12 to 15 minutes. Serve hot to accompany salad. (Released by Western Newspaper Union.)

FEBRUARY HOSTESS? TREAT GUESTS TO A PATRIOTIC TEA (See Recipes Below,)